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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ItsAllCyclical who wrote (54963)	11/18/1999 6:40:00 AM
From: oilbabe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

OPEC promises to keep a firm grip on output OPEC nations Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, along with non-OPEC oil producer Mexico said today in Riyadh that they would meet again in February to review what was happening in the oil market and consolidate their cooperation. Energy and Mines Minister Al¡ Rodr¡guez, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi and Mexico?s Luis T‚llez all agreed to keep a firm grip on output that has seen prices soar to over $25 per barrel. Earlier today, December New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures on ACCESS rose 40 cents to $26.10 ? the highest since the middle of January 1997. Later, at 1713 GMT, they had risen a further 40 cents to climb 82 cents up overall at $26.52. Meanwhile IPE Brent crude oil futures for January were at a 9-year high of $25.07 per barrel ? the highest since the Gulf War fought in 1991. All three oil ministers in Riyadh also confirmed the need for producers to stick with production quotas until at least March when the current restrictions are due to end. The three men will again meet in February ? one month before the heads of state and oil ministers summit is due to be held in Caracas ? to recommend production policy. T‚llez said that any change in policy would not go into effect before April 1, 2000. Rodr¡guez said that the Caracas summit is definitely going ahead but the date could be revised slightly if necessary to ensure total participation. All heads of state and oil ministers from the OPEC nations have been invited as well as other major oil producers in what will be the biggest meeting in the cartel?s 40-year history. Following the Riyadh talks, Rodr¡guez will visit Qatar, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq. After that, it was announced today in Caracas, he will travel to Madrid for two days of talks on Nov.24 and 25 to strengthen energy ties with Spain.

To: ItsAllCyclical who wrote (54963)	11/18/1999 6:43:00 AM
From: oilbabe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Crude Oil Falls on U.S. Proposal to Allow the Sale of Strategic Reserves London, Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell after the U.S. introduced legislation to allow the sale of supplies from its emergency reserve in an effort to stall a rise in gasoline and heating fuel prices. Two U.S. senators yesterday introduced a proposal that would clear the sale of oil held in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, inventories that are enough to meet two months of imports in the U.S., the world's largest energy-consuming nation. A U.S. government sale ``can have a disproportionate effect on sentiment in relation to the amount of oil that will be released,' said Lawrence Eagles, an analyst at GNI Ltd. ``But we haven't actually had the sale yet. We'll wait and see.' Crude oil for January settlement fell as much as 27 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $24.65 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange in London. Crude oil for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 20 cents to $26.40 a barrel in electronic trading. The reserve was established in 1975 to provide an emergency supply of oil in the event of a crisis, such as the Arab oil embargo of 1973. It currently holds about 573 million barrels of oil -- equal to two months of imports -- according to the Energy Department. The reserve has only been tapped once, in 1991, by President George Bush during the Gulf War. U.S. retail gasoline prices have risen 34 percent so far this year and are close to a three-year high. Changes in retail fuel prices tend to follow moves in futures markets. Oil prices have more than doubled this year after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and four other nations slashed output by about 5 million barrels a day, or 7 percent, in April from February 1998 levels to boost prices and force refineries to use up stored supplies. Iraq Oil prices were also pushed lower after Russia called yesterday for the immediate removal of limits on Iraqi oil exports under a United Nations program and a doubling of the amount of export revenue the country can use to repair its dilapidated oil industry, traders said. Iraq, which is allowed to export $8.3 billion worth of oil under a UN-sponsored exception to sanctions imposed after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990, exported 2.2 million barrels a day last month and accounted for about 3 percent of the world supply. Iraq is the third-largest producer within OPEC and the only member not participating in the output reduction campaign.

To: ItsAllCyclical who wrote (54963)	11/18/1999 6:46:00 AM
From: oilbabe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

U.S. Senators Introduce Bill on Sale From National Oil Reserves Washington, Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Two U.S. senators today introduced legislation in Congress that would allow the Secretary of Energy to sell crude oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat a surge in prices they say are being manipulated by foreign producers. Oil today rose above $26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the first time since January 1997. ``This legislation would show foreign producers that the U.S. will intervene into unfair markets to protect our domestic economy,' Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who co-sponsored the bill, said in a statement. ``That knowledge may be sufficient to prevent OPEC from extensive oil market manipulations in the first place.' The bill, called the ``Oil Price Safeguard Act,' was also sponsored by Republican Susan Collins of Maine. ``A rise in crude oil prices increases the price of home heating oil and gasoline,' hurting consumers in Northern states, said Collins in a statement. No other senators have signed on to support the bill at this stage, a spokeswoman for Schumer said. Oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico met today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to affirm their commitment to a program of reduced output -- orchestrated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries -- that has more than doubled the price of oil this year. Schumer has characterized current prices as a threat to the U.S. economic boom, as well as a hardship for his constituents. The legislation would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, which established the Strategic Reserve, and the Energy Policy Act of 1992, according to the statement from Schumer's office. Schumer met with Energy Secretary Bill Richardson last month in an attempt to get the administration to sell U.S. reserves in the face of rising oil prices, a proposal the Clinton administration rejected. The Schumer-Collins bill would require the Energy Department to examine oil prices if they rise above $25 for more than 14 days. The government set up the reserve in 1975 to provide an emergency supply of oil in the event of a crisis, such as the Arab oil embargo of 1973. It currently holds about 573 million barrels of oil -- equal to two months of imports -- according to the Energy Department. The reserve has only been tapped once, in 1991, by President George Bush during the Persian Gulf War.